[IC] Free For All

[Shadow Dragon]

He shoulders the scythe and follows Dog back down the hall. He wrinkles his nose. "Ugh, the stench of animated corpses makes my head spin...." He begins twirling the scythe like a baton, faster and faster until it becomes a blur. "What does "old school" mean?"

[Strong Potato]

Zanni collected some kitchen knives and put them in his oversized pants. Each time he wiggled, the knives would collide and make a metallic noise. Zanni saw some pamphlets about safety and how to handle the kitchenware, but threw it away since it was meant to cut people outside the kitchen. After a minute or two, Zanni left the store after ransacking the place looking for money.

"Being a clown ain't cheap, ya know"

Zanni followed the crew, now answering the individual that peaked his interest. (@Shadow Dragon)

"The same as always... Darker on the outside than the inside. In the old school days this never was the case. It was eat or get eaten. Nowadays you can't even pronounce 'swear words' in front of children. New paradigma's destroy the old, so I eat the young to stop their consumer driven ways of exploiting the existing basis of our society. We live in a world where monsters are no longer scary, just wrongly identified and misunderstood. I will make us great again. So before I go back to feasting on rotten flesh and corpses, I wanted to ask you: Are you a halfblood or perhaps one of my descendants?"

[Shadow Dragon]

He shakes his head. "I'm not related to you. I'm a vampire, not a zombie. I am terrifying, and it keeps people away. Clearly this isn't the case for your world. And I have no idea what "half blood" means."

[King Cosmos]

“Yes. Of course.” Alastair pushed away from the wall and began walking away from the source of the noise, back in the direction they had come from, until he reached the nearest intersection. From what he had seen so far the maze was fairly simple in its design, though no less confusing for it; a seemingly endless crosshatching of straight lines with paths that ran on into eternity intersected by perpendicular paths with precise regularity.

It was a bit unfair to call it a maze at all really. There was no trick to it, no dead ends, no confusing loops or bends; just simple scale and a mind numbing regularity and uniformity that made it feel like you were making no progress at all. It the wall you were passing now looked exactly the same as the wall you passed an hour ago, six hours ago, a day ago, who was to say you were making progress at all?

It was enough to drive a person insane, if they were not halfway there already.

The unvarying layout did at least mean that circumventing the cave-in was incredibly simple at least. Simply back track a step, head half a dozen columns to the right and start heading back in the same direction; hopefully they had travelled far enough to the side that the cave-in wouldn’t be an issue and soon they were walking down a completely identical hallway and none the worse for wear.

“Whoever designed this maze was an evil genius. Or a bureaucrat. Such uniformity cannot be the creation of a sound mind.” After a few minutes of walking Alastair chanced to glance down one of the perpendicular paths as he crossed an intersection and spotted the piled rubble and broken slabs of concrete that marked the site of the cave-in. A sparkling amidst the dust and the stones caught his eye and he diverted from his path to approach the rubble.

Large, blue and glowing; it looked like an oversized gemstone, but when he reached down to pick it up it was immediately apparent that it was not a natural material at all. It was warm to the touch, still holding some small amount of energy of some kind which explained why it was glowing; or still glowing as the case might be. Its proximity to the cave-in and the fact that its shape suggested it was once part of something larger did not go unnoticed by Alastair; the idea that this object maybe be dangerous did cross his mind, but then he had never been one to heed danger when his own curiosity was involved.

So engrossed in the object was he that Alastair almost missed the elevator doors standing no more than ten feet away from him, partially obscured by rubble as it was. Luckily he managed to drag his attention away from the blue orb long enough to take in his surroundings, the sleek metal surface of the door standing out from the dull grey concrete.

“Over here! I believe I have found a way out.” Holding the blue enigma up in front of his face, Alastair turned his attention back to the mystery as he waited for Ash to arrive. “And a curiosity.”

@Illiren

[MikkishtheLeprechaun]

@King Cosmos

On its own, the metal doors slid open, ominously inviting the two inside.

@Shadow Dragon@Strong Potato@Gentlemanvaultboy@Karkinos

As his iron cudgels flew in a flurry of swift strikes whose' power could match the deadliest tornadoes, Mikkish was too blinded by the fun he was having to notice the tallest undead in the area raising a rocket launcher.

This 'zombie' wasn't a zombie at all. It was some abomination made in a lab from the remains of a human and ungodly experiments. It's eyes weren't eyes, but computer sensors, which zeroed in on the handsome blonde man on his killing spree.

"Threat Level" The sensors read "Very High"

And with that, Nemesis released the exploding projectile from the canon slung over his shoulder, barely missing Mikkish but hitting close enough that the resulting blast threw him a short distance. Landing on his feet, though clumsily, Mikkish looked where the shot had some from. This...big zombie looked familiar.

As Mikkish' attention was on Nemesis, however, he was snapped out of his thoughts as a zombie bit into his shoulder. It didn't last long, however, as his other fist slammed into the zombies face so hard, all that was left of it's head was the lower part of the jaw and set of teeth. Last Mikkish checked, mages were immune to most infections and viruses, and the pain didn't bug him, so he immediately shrugged it off and threw the mace at Nemesis. While it hit Nemesis with great force, Nemesis barely jogged his head, and started loading for another shot.

[Strong Potato]

A foul stench distracts Zanni from the conversation.

"What the hell is that smell? It smells like dirty fish guts combined with rotten eggs."

After following his nose for a few seconds, he manages to find the place not only the stink, but also the growling originated from. Standing only a few feet away from the location of whatever, Zanni tries to blend in with the crowd of zombies and occasionally bites at random objects.

I must warn the others, but what would be the best course of action right now?

@MikkishtheLeprechaun @Karkinos @Shadow Dragon @Gentlemanvaultboy

[Shadow Dragon]

Vanisity turns and runs, jumps off the wall, and flies overhead, still twirling his scythe, his movments unnaturally silent. He stares at the.....thing, for a moment, before hissing, his eyes glowing. I hate hybrids.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

The explosion forces Dog to move overtime. Following after the new guy that was, somehow, moving even faster than he was Dog skidded around a corner just in time to spot Mikkish getting bitten in the shoulder. But the more important thing, the much bigger point of focus, was the giant zombie. Not as big and terrifying as Zanni he didn't think, but this one had a rocket launcher! That it was loading!

Luckily for him the vampire (vampire? like a for real vampire??) had managed to get over the top of his head to get that good flank. To capitalize on that Dog duck low to the ground and charged, the sword kicking up spanks and making a noise like nails on a chalkboard as it bounced across the floor. If STARS turned around dog was going to bury this claymore in his skull. If he didn't, well, Dog had dodged rockets before. Admittedly at a longer range than this, but still.

@Shadow Dragon@MikkishtheLeprechaun@Strong Potato

[Strong Potato]

Zanni strolls around the abomination. From all the people he was the closest to the thing. He grabbed some zombies and handed them knives. After some grunts of explanation, he sends them out to distract the big guy. Looking around, Zanni tries to find some sort of parkour to get high above the creature.

"My next trick will blow your mind, literally", he whispers.

After he is done free-running, Zanni will be preparing himself to jump from a great altitude to pierce through the eyes and skull of the creature. It reminds him of the times he stood on the trapeze in the circus, way before he became infamous.

[MikkishtheLeprechaun]

This creature, Nemesis as it was called, was built for combat situations. It never bothered to turn toward Vinasity @Shadow Dragon instead directing it's attention immediately to Dog @Gentlemanvaultboy and, as expected, fired a shot from the launcher. It was the next actions of the creature which would be unexpected.

As Zanii was falling in attack on the monster's head, it put it's hand out, and from it's palm sprang a tentacle flying at Zanii's face. @Strong Potato

Mikkish, his punches and throws always rivaling the power of the most deadly sniper rifles and small explosives, was baffled at the creature's lack of a reaction to the morningstar. Still, he was unsure what to do, and having used his fire (which was as of now unavailable) and his buff magic to handle combat situations before, he rushed into Nemesis' side like an NFL player rushing a quarterback, and unleashed a flurry of lightning quick and heavy blows that struck at the head, neck, and rib area. The blows did jog Nemesis, a little, but it seemed able to ignore them as it focused on Zanii.

[Shadow Dragon]

He calls out to the monster, "Hey, STARS, look up!" Vinashy throws a knife at him, to get him to look up.

[Strong Potato]

Zanni is surprised. The creature had seen him coming. How did he do it, Zanni pondered. He had to react fast. Instead of the original plan of poking the creature's eyes out, Zanni had to deal with the tentacle. Even for the most experienced acrobats it is impossible to dodge projectiles while mid-air. Zannis' mind however drifted off again to the memory of one of his fearful nights.

"And now, for the final act, I shall dodge whatever is coming for me," Zanni shouted to the audience," while jumping through this fiery loop." The cannon was placed at the right angle and loaded with a cannonball. The audience cheered as everything was set in place. The cannon, Zanni and the flaming ring all stood in position.

"It is showtime!"

As Zanni started running, the cannon prematurely ejected the ball, hitting Zanni square in the face and destroying the main construction holding the ring. The audience screamed as they were consumed by the outburst of heat coming their way. Zanni fell on the floor as everything around him became engulved in flames. Zanni let out his last breath before a small shimmering of light woke him up.

As a knife passing by reflected some light in his eyes, he snapped out of it. As the tentacle nearly penetrated his grey-skinned body, Zanni flexed his jester body like he never had done before. A sudden tentacle popped out his shirt's backside, ripping off part of his clown costume and dried skin.

"It is showtime!"

Zanni jams the two knives he is holding in the tentacle. With a new big scratch going from his belly to his right hip, Zanni slides down the tentacle to demonstrate a kick to the face.

[Illiren]

The semi-reflective silver surface of the elevator was a beautiful sight to see. Up to this point the only colors were gray, gray, blue, and more gray. It was quickly becoming depressing, being surrounded by only concrete walls. Wait, Blue? Ashley finally noticed that Alastair had found something. Some kind of blue orb, but it is not clear what it came from.
Click! When Ashley moved to get closer to see what Alastair found she accidentally kicked something metal. A sawed off shotgun, a quick job as the edge doesn't seem to be filed smooth, was slightly obscured by the rubble along with who seems to be its previous owner.
Carefully moving the rubble aside the person was defiantly dead. Whoever she was she was some survivor, Ashley guessed with her improvised armor, and has been dead for a little bit.
With the elevator opining Ashley returned the girls shotgun to her before entering the elevator, completely forgetting about what ever Alastair had found. The elevator may not lead out, but it was more than likely the way forward.
'Although the girl had shoes, so who was that I heard running earlier?'(@Assallya) Ashley wondered.

@King Cosmos

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Yes, his plan had worked!

Oh no; his plan had worked!

The sword dropped from Dog's hand and clattered across the floor as he ducked, gripped the floor with both his arms, and used all his limbs to throw himself out of the way of the incoming rocket. He felt it pass within a hairs breadth of him as she himself rocked into the opposite wall and heard it explode behind him. He caught himself on the wall and kept running at the STARS thing.

He was happy to see that it had focused on him and not one of the others. All three of them were up close and personal with it now. Something had to be done about that weapon. If it fired at its own feet it would get them all. As Dog closed in he considered his options. He couldn't use his teeth for this, he knew that. Zombies were all carriers of some deadly disease and even if he was designed to eat corpses he didn't want to risk that. There had never been anything like a zombie virus before.

Luckily for him his companions had giver him an option. As Dog got close he scooped up the mace Mikkish had thrown earlier that was still lying at the Starts monsters feet and spun with it, putting all his power into a blow aimed at the wrist of the hand that held the rocket launcher, to break it and keep the thing from firing again.

[Shadow Dragon]

Vinashy dives from the ceiling, and slams his scythe deep into the creacher's chest. He tears the scythe out of it, flips away, and points the end at the monster zombie in a guarding block.

[Strong Potato]

As his feet landed on the face of the monster, Zanni jumped off and landed next to Dog(@Gentlemanvaultboy). His hands and knives were now covered in unkown liquids, originating from the hostile creature.

"What's next?"

[MikkishtheLeprechaun]

@Gentlemanvaultboy

Dog's blow hit the monster's wrist dead on, but did...nothing. Even with enhanced strength, like Mikkish, it was like hitting a brick wall. This didn't mean Dog or Mikkish were weak, no. The mace even bent at the handle when Mikkish threw it, and Dog's hit with it caused the spiked ball part to fly off.

@Strong Potato@Shadow Dragon
As the knives had drawn what must have been the creature's blood from the tentacle, it immediately retreated back into Nemesis like a person retreats their hand from a hot pan. This was only a short lived victory though as just as the tentacle retreated into its hand, several tentacles burst from its chest where Vinashy had stabbed it. They wiggled menacingly, like pissed off worms.

The thing then whipped it's rocket launcher around to hit everyone closeby (which was everyone.) Mikkish dodged, though barely, and found himself in a mosh of zombies, who he was now occupied fighting off with his magic induced strength.

[Dealdric]

It was cold.

Then again it was always cold to Slaen, a warrior of Helhiem. It was dark, that he wasn't used to, and it smelled of beer... wait. Beer?! Slaen shot up like arrow, and immediately summoned his axe, Fojrug. He looked for the source of the stench, and found a broken glass bottle, which he didn't recognize. Next to it were bottles still intact. He picked one up and pried the cap off with his axe blade. The flavor was richer than he remembered. But what was he doing on the mortal plane? Then he heard a boom. "Odin's Beard! The fresh hell was that?" and he went towards the source.

@MikkishtheLeprechaun@Strong Potato@Shadow Dragon

Slaen was on a ledge looking over a large area with five beings in it he didn't know, and a host of undead, but two he sensed were dead and cold as the grave and conscious. Four were fighting the largest one, a horribly scarred abomination wielding an unknown device. After a moment of watching, he determined it was a boom stick and that it was his enemy. He looked at Fojrug in his hand and it's blade glowed cold and permafrost leaving his hands. "By Lady Hel, you soul will freeze for eternity starting today." and he jumped off, preparing to cleave the beasts arm off with a mighty roar. "For Lady Hel!!!"

[Shadow Dragon]

"What it this thing made of? Squids?" He spins and tears through the zombies surrounding Mikkish, and vaults over them to dodge more tentacles. He throws his scythe at it, immbeding it in its chest, severing several of them.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Dogs eyes were drawn to the motion of the maces metal head as it rolled away across the floor, and since he was the closest one when the behemoth began it's spin the tube of the rocket launcher caught him full in the side and sent him skipping across the floor and through the display windows of a nearby men's boutique.

As he pulled the coat that had fallen on his head and looked up from his place atop a pile of broken mannequins he clutched his side to try and stem the growing aura of pain he felt from the blow. What had the built hat thing out of? That wasn't flesh, there's no way that was flesh. It had been more like swinging into a slab of iron.

He looked up at the shout of a battle cry, noticing that someone else new had chosen to join the fight. Unfortunately he was going about it the same was the rest of them had, moving in to bash the thing in melee, and that...that wasn't working. Cutting it made the worms come out, he wasn't sure that was a good thing but it was a damn sight more progress than he or Mikkish had made. He pulled himself out of the window while trying to think of some other way he could try and fight that thing, trying to formulate some other strategy he could use.

His eyes lit up when he spotted a red box on the wall, it's clear glass front displaying a hose wrapped up inside. Yeah, yeah, maybe if he couldn't hurt it he could at least do something to disorient it while the others where hacking away. He ran over to the case and ripped out the door, pulling the hose out while the monster was still consumed with the warrior, and turned it in the monsters direction before spinning the nozzle and unleashing a torrent of his pressure water at the things head to try and disorient it.